Political blues in America

SHANGHAI — The focus of global attention over the past month has mostly been on political developments in the United States. First came the attempted assassination of former US president (and presidential candidate at the time of the happening) Donald Trump. He was speaking at a campaign rally at an outdoor agricultural fairground near a small town in Pennsylvania. The primary goal of the rally was to "scoop up" even more rural votes, predominantly from agricultural areas in Pennsylvania, a so-called "swing state" (a state that sometimes is won by the Republican Party, to which Trump belongs, and sometimes by the Democratic Party) to "encircle" his opponent, the then Democratic candidate President Joe Biden, who has apparently a stronger hold on urban votes.

When the assassination attempt happened, Trump was delivering a speech on an open-air stage. As is typical for political rallies in the US, there were many supporters not only in front of the stage but also seated behind him. After he had spoken only a few words, a bullet grazed his right ear, narrowly missing his head. A few members of the audience seated behind him were hit, resulting in one death and a few injured. The shooter was immediately shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper. However, how the shooter managed to climb onto the roof of the nearby building and carry out the shooting in plain sight remains a mystery.